EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros is trying to see if there is more life in The Matrix beyond the three groundbreaking films written and directed by the Wachowskis. This is all in the exploratory phase and it’s unclear if the Wachowskis, then Andy and Larry but now Lily and Lana Wachowski, or the original cast will be involved, or producer Joel Silver. Right now, I hear the studio is likely to create a writers’ room of scribes to figure out the best possible way to relaunch the franchise.

Why would they do that and take on such a groundbreaking series? The trilogy grossed nearly $1.8 billion worldwide. The 1999 original featured some of the most audacious action ever seen onscreen during its time. That film grossed over $463 million worldwide. The sequel The Matrix Reloaded did even better and grossed $742 million globally for Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Pictures. The finale released later that year in 2003, paled in comparison, but still grossed $427.3 million.

Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne just reteamed in the John Wick sequel and there was a lot of good will there. Stay tuned. Studio isn’t commenting.

It’s still not clear what shape the project will take, but sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. is in the early stages of developing a relaunch of The Matrix, the iconic 1999 sci-fi movie that is considered one of the most original films in cinematic history, with Zak Penn in talks to write a treatment.

Sources say there is potential interest in Michael B. Jordan to star, but much must be done before the project is ready to go.

At this point, the Wachowski siblings, who wrote and directed the original and its two sequels, are not involved and the nature of their potential engagement with a new version has not been determined. Certainly, Warners would want the two filmmakers to give at minimum a blessing to the nascent project. The studio had no comment.

Joel Silver, who produced the original trilogy, is said to have approached Warners about the idea of mining The Matrix for a potential new film. However, Silver sold his interest in all his movies to the studio in 2012 for about $30 million, according to sources. Warners is said to be leery of including him in any meaningful role, as he not only has a reputation for budget-control issues, but apparently has a strained relationship with the Wachowskis. The siblings hold much more meaning for fans than the producer. Silvers reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Written and directed by the Wachowskis when they went by Andy and Larry, the original movie sees humanity living in a simulated reality, unaware that humans are in pods in which their bodies are being harvested for energy. A computer programmer named Neo (Keanu Reeves) slowly becomes aware of this suppressed existence, eventually becoming humanity’s one true hope (Neo = One) to overthrow the oppressors. The pic also starred Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving.

The Matrix was released in a quiet period of the 1999 release calendar — March 31 — and Warner Bros. didn’t have outsized expectations for an action movie with obvious Manga and comic-book influences. But the story and ground-breaking special effects (including the slow-motion "bullet time" effect, which launched dozens of imitators in the years that followed) became the highest grossing R-rated film of 1999 in North America, and the fourth-highest grossing film of the year worldwide. It also won four Academy Awards.

Two sequels, Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, were not as well received, but Reeves’ deal for those films made him one of the richest actors in Hollywood.

While promoting John Wick: Chapter 2, Reeves said he would be open to returning for another installment of the franchise if the Wachowskis were involved. "They would have to write it and direct it. And then we’d see what the story is, but yeah, I dunno, that’d be weird, but why not?” he told Yahoo Movies. However, it is likely that Warners will look elsewhere to attract an A-list director and star.

While some at Warners consider the title among the studio’s sacrosanct properties, such as Casablanca, others see a need to redevelop it in an environment where studios are desperately looking for ways to monetize their libraries and branded IP is hard to come by.

The idea of adapting The Matrix as a television series was nixed in recent months. But Warner Bros. sees a model in what Disney and Lucasfilm have done with Star Wars, exploring the hidden corners of the universe with movies such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or the in-production young Han Solo film. Perhaps a young Morpheus movie could come out of the exploration, as an example.

Penn is a writer with deep roots in the geeky genres in which Matrix travels. He created the Syfy network’s super-powered show Alphas and has been involved in comic book movies ranging from the X-Men franchise to The Avengers.

I firmly believe there is plenty of additional material to mine from this universe and I would gladly watch more ... But I am not going to buy in to shit like "The Adventures of Young Morpheus" or "Neo and Trinity's Children Strike Back". Mine the universe, please. But make sure the gene pool is deeper than a bowl of snot.

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Honestly I've never seen a Matrix film in full other than Revolutions (I was dragged along by friends). I have the first film on Blu-ray because I found a copy cheap and intended to finally watch it but never have gotten around to it.

I'm mildly interested. There's a lot that could be done with the setup, but I don't feel any burning desire to get back to it. I suppose it could be interesting to see how the first few people figured it all out, setting up Zion and whatnot. I see no reason to have "young Morpheus" or whatever, trying to make a direct linkage to the trilogy.

Keanu said recently he'd be willing to do more if The Wachowski ex-brothers were involved. For the life of me I don't know why they won't do a sequel or two of this. A reboot will have nothing new to offer.

Honestly I've never seen a Matrix film in full other than Revolutions (I was dragged along by friends). I have the first film on Blu-ray because I found a copy cheap and intended to finally watch it but never have gotten around to it.

The first two are mostly solid action/adventure/sci-fi movies. Revolutions is just garbage.

The second movie could have been a great 90 minute movie, but it's a heavily, heavily padded flick.

The first movie has aged a little strangely, as the posturing is far more obvious and it comes off more like a leather fetish flick in many instances. It still tells a pretty solid story and the effects mostly hold up, I always had issues with the movies pacing but overall it's a solid movie still.

Honestly I've never seen a Matrix film in full other than Revolutions (I was dragged along by friends). I have the first film on Blu-ray because I found a copy cheap and intended to finally watch it but never have gotten around to it.

No wonder, they had to be watched in order. Its like watching "Return of the Jedi" before "New Hope" and "Empire", the sense of misery, discovery and imminent confrontation is lost and you just have Teddy Bears fighting robots.

No wonder, they had to be watched in order. Its like watching "Return of the Jedi" before "New Hope" and "Empire", the sense of misery, discovery and imminent confrontation is lost and you just have Teddy Bears fighting robots.

Your friends suck!

I knew that going in. I'm sure I just didn't have anything else to do and decided to tag along. I had seen parts of the other two films just not in full.